William s



PATENTEDJAN. 12, 1904.

' W. s. s. FLEMING.

SAFE. APPLICATION fILED MAY 1 19 03.

N0 MODEL.

vwembo'a TNE nonms UNITED STATES Patented January 12, 1904.

WILLIAM S. S. FLEMING, OF BEMI'DJI, MINNESOTA.

SAFE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 749,283, dated January 12, 1904.

Application filed May 1, 1903. Serial No. 155,169. (No model.)

To 60% whom it may concern:

Be it known that LIVILLIAM S. S. FLEMIue,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Be- ,midji, in the county of Beltrami, State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. i

This invention relates to safes for holding money or other valuables; and it has for its object to provide a safe which under normal conditions may be readily opened after being unlocked, but wherein when the safe is forced by blowing both the inner door and the money-box will be held securely against immediate removal.

In the drawings forming a portion of this specification, and in which like numerals of reference indicate similar parts in the several views, Figure 1 is a vertical section through a safe embodying thepresent invention, the

money-box and the plug being shown in process of withdrawal from the casing. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the safe, the door of the safe being shown as fractured and the contents thereof wedged about the upper end of the plug. Fig. 3 is a vertical section through a modified form of safe wherein the plug and the money-box are screwed into the casing.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 thereof, there is shown a safe consisting of a cylindrical casing 5, the lower end I of which is closed, the upper end thereof being provided with a hinged door 6, of frangible material, having a suit able lock for holdingit closed. The door is hollow,as illustrated, and in the inner face is a filling-opening 7 having a suitable closure 8, the opening permitting of filling the door with sand 10 for a purpose which will be presently explained.

Slidably fitted in the cylindrical casing 5'is a cylindrical money-box 11, which is opened from its lower end, theupper end of the cylindrical money-box being slightly tapered, as shown at 12. While the money-box fits snugly in the cylindrical casing, it is adapted for free sliding movement therein.

Above the money-box is slidably fitted in the casing a cylindrical plug 13, the upper end of which is slightly tapered in the same manner as the upper end of the money-box, and in the lower end of the plug, which is hollow, is an opening 13, having a closure 14., and through this opening may be supplied a filling of sand 15 to the cylindrical plug.

The lower end of the cylindrical plug is connected to the upper end of the money-box by means of a chain 16 of such length that the plug may be raised entirely from the easing before the chain will be drawn taut, the slack of the chain when the plug and moneybox are in the casing being coiled upon the money-box below the plug.

VVhe-n the money-box is to be removed from the casing, the door of the casing is unlocked and raised, and a tackle 17 is hitched to the ring 18 at the top of the plug, and the plug is then raised from the casing, after which the plug is laid to one side and the tackle is hitched to the chain of the money-box, which is raised in turn, although it will be understood that the plug and money-boX may be raised simultaneously, if desired.

As illustrated, in installing the safe the easing is buried in the ground with the upper end flush with the surface of the ground, and to prevent removal of the casing it is provided with laterally-directed arms or anchors 18. Vith this arrangement should an attempt be made to blow open the safe the fracture of the door would permit the sand in the door to run out of the door and fall upon the upper end of the plug, the bevel of the upper end of the plug directing the sand between the plug and the inner face of the casing, so that not only will the upper end of the plug be covered, but any attempt to draw the plug from the casing will cause the sand to wedge so tightly between the plug and the face of the casing as to hold the plug securely against removal. The only Way in which the plug can then be removed is by destroying it, and as soon as the plug isfractured the sand therein will run down onto the upper beveled end of the money-box and wedge between the convergent faces of the casing and the beveled end of the box, so that the box can not be withdrawn. Furthermore, the cylindrical casing in practice will have a bore of such a size that will preclude a person entering it, so that the act of removing the sand from around the plug or from around the money-box will be rendered practically impossible.

In Fig. 3 of the drawings there is shown a modified structure, wherein the lower portion of the casing is internally threaded and both the plug and the money-box are correspondingly threaded, so that they may be screwed thereinto. The threaded engagement of the plug and box with the casing increases the difficulty'of removal of the plug and casing when covered by the sand. To engage the threaded perforation of the money-box with that of the casing, the box is lowered into the aperture until it reaches the first series of threads upon the interior wall thereof. The chain is then held taught and rotated until the threads of thebox have passed those of the casing, when the box is still further lowered to engage the lowermost threads of the casing. The plug is then engaged with the upper thread in the same manner. Rotation of the chain may be accomplished by passing a rod through the links thereof, which will give the required amount of leverage.

In practice other modifications may be made and any suitable materials and proportions may be used for the various parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is 1. A safe comprising a casing, a money-box disposed within the casing, and a frangible closure for the casing above the money-box, said closure havinga loose filling adapted to wedge between the money-box and the casing when released from the closure.

2. A safe comprising a casing, a body remess movably and snugly fitted in the casing and having its upper end portion spaced from the wall of the casing, and having its top formed into cone shape and a closure for the casing above said body, said closure having a loose filling adapted to wedge between the spaced faces of the casing and body when released from the closure, the cone-shaped top of the body being adapted to deflect the loose filling between the spaced faces of the casing and body.

3. A safe comprising a casing, a money-box snugly and removably fitted in the casing and having a tapered upper end, a hollow plug snugly and removably fitted in the casing above the money-box and having a tapered upper end, a hollow closure for the casing above the plug, said plug and closure having each a filling adapted to wedge between the casing and the wall of the tapered face therebelow when released, a flexible connection between the plug and the money-box, and means for attachment of a hoist to the plug.

A. A safe comprising a casing, a money-box snugly and removably fitted in the casing and having a tapered upper end, a hollow plug snugly and removably fitted in the casing above the money-box and having a tapered upper end, a hollow closure for the casing above the plug, said plug and closure having each a filling adapted to wedge between the casing and the wall of the tapered face therebelow, when released, and means for attachment of a hoist to the plug and money-box.

In testimony whereof I' affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM S. S. FLEMING.

Witnesses:

F. N. LANG, A. A. CARTER. 

